Dense focal plane arrays for pushbroom satellite radiometers

Performance of a dense focal plane array feeding an offset toroidal reflector antenna system is studied and discussed in the context of a potential application in multi-beam radiometers for ocean surveillance. We present a preliminary design of the array feed for the 5-m diameter antenna at X-band. This array is optimized to realize high antenna beam efficiency (∼ 95%) over a wide scan range (±20°) with very low side-lobe and cross-polarization levels.